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Mike Smith comes to the Calgary Flames as a 35-year-old with a decade’s worth of National Hockey League experience, half of which has been spent as a starting netminder.

But when his contract expires at the end of 2018-19, he’ll be 37 years old.

Acquiring a goalie in the twilight of his NHL career, of course, was a large part of the decision-making process for general manager Brad Treliving when he finalized the trade with the Arizona Coyotes.

“There’s no question, we spent a long time looking at that,” Treliving said at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday. “It was a consideration. The one thing I’d say with Mike, knowing him, he’s about as athletic and gifted genetically and the way he looks after himself … it’s better than anyone I’ve ever been around. He’s a young 35. There’s no question, you give (his age) some pause. He’s got a low odometer, I’d say. He really didn’t become a starting goaltender until he was 30-years-old so there’s low miles on him.

“He’s a little bit of a genetic freak, this guy.”

Treliving, of course, has knowledge of Smith from his days with the Coyotes which played into the equation (“(Familiarity) doesn’t hurt,” Treliving added) and the deal, apparently, had been in the works for “a while.”

It’s been no secret the Flames needed to ink a goalie to their roster before the start of the season and had been shopping around this off-season. Options, at least to fit their needs, have been dwindling.

Looking ahead with two promising netminders coming through their system in Jon Gilles and Tyler Parsons who seem close to being NHL ready, Treliving was comfortable with the perceived risks associated with the deal.

“I don’t think the age is going to be something we’re concerned with,” Treliving said. “We think the term left in his contract, he’s going to give us good play.

“Part of the attractiveness of the deal is Mike’s term on his contract. We did nothing to disrupt the pipeline of our goaltenders. We all get excited about prospects but we’ll let them determine when they’re ready … we think we’ve got ourselves a No. 1 goaltender and we’ve got some good goaltending prospects and we’ll see how things are moving forward.”

Headed the other way is unrestricted free-agent goalie Chad Johnson (who fulfills the NHL’s Expansion Draft protection requirements for the Coyotes), Boston University defenceman Brandon Hickey, and a third-round pick which would become a second-rounder if the Flames make the playoffs. The Coyotes also absorbed 25 per cent of Smith’s $5.66-million contract, giving the Flames a $4.2-million cap hit for the next two seasons, which is slightly more than the $3.8-million they spent on Johnson and Brian Elliott combined.

Treliving struck the deal hours before submitting the team’s protected list for the upcoming NHL expansion draft. All 30 teams’ lists will be made public at 8 a.m. (MT) on Sunday and, from there, Las Vegas general manager George McPhee will be able to select his 2017-18 Golden Knights roster.

Earlier this week, the Flames indicated they’re protecting seven forwards, three defencemen, and one netminder. The trade basically seals the fate of Elliott, who is also set to become a UFA on July 1 and will be left unprotected.

And that means the Flames are likely still in the market for a back-up netminder this off-season.

As for Smith, his numbers are misleading after being on a struggling Arizona Coyotes team over the past few years.

Last season, he had a 2.92 goals against average and .914 save percentage stopping pucks for the third-worst team in the NHL, and had personal record of 19-26-9. Overall, Smith, a fifth-round draft pick of Dallas in 2001, played 474 regular season NHL games and amassed a 2.70 goals against average and .913 save percentage.

“If you look at Mike’s numbers, and the data we look at, when you dig into it, you look at the types of chances, the number of chances, where they came from, the high danger chances, the type of workload that Mike had — and the performance he had — the (overall) numbers are not really reflective,” Treliving said. “At the end to the day, we thought it was a really good fit for us.”

The Calgary Flames, needing a goaltender, acquired big veteran Mike Smith from the Arizona Coyotes for the rights to Brandon Hickey, who is a third round pick from 2014 just completing his third year at Boston University,and negotiating rights to goalie Chad Johnson.

A conditional third round pick also goes the Flames’ way, improving to a second rounder if they make the playoffs this season.

TSN reports 25% of Smith’s hefty contract, that had two years to run with a US$5.66-million cap hit, will be retained by Arizona.

Flames general manager Brad Treliving was working in Phoenix when Smith’s six-year deal was signed and has faith in the stopper. Acquiring Smith was also a signal the Flames believe Marc-Andre Fleury will accept being chosen by the Golden Knights in the draft after the Pittsburgh Penguins left him unprotected.

Smith has played the past six seasons with the Coyotes, posting a .914 save percentage in 55 games last year.